Various attempts have been made through the years to provide fragrance, scents, repellents or other solutions to clothing, hair accessories and other textiles. Examples include U.S. Pat. No. 5,826,598 entitled “Scented Hair Accessory” and WO 2000/015072 entitled “Scented Scrunchie.” The '598 patent includes a chamber located within a tubular housing into which scenting material is placed. The WO '072 patent application places scented formulas inside an elasticized tube placed inside a hair scrunchie. The scented formulas are applied to absorbent materials such as vermiculite or dried flowers and are then placed into the elasticized tube. The scrunchie can be used for tying back hair, adding fragrance. The WO '072 patent application explains that insect repellant or other substances can be placed inside the elasticized tube instead of a scented formula.
It is also known in the textile industry to apply microencapsulated substances to textiles. Microencapsulation is a process of enclosing a substance inside a miniature capsule. There are a variety of microencapsulation techniques such as those described in “Microencapsulation at an Affordable Price” by Dr. Saraf et al., September 2007, International Dyer, pp. 35-38; and “Imparting Cosmetic Effects on Textiles” by S. Y. Cheng, et al., August 2008, Colourage, pp. 68-78. As disclosed in these two articles, there are not only a variety of ways of applying microencapsulated substances to various products including textiles, but a variety of substances having different properties can be applied to textiles using microencapsulation techniques. For example, fabric can be treated with many kinds of microencapsulated substances including: fragrance or freshener, aloe or other products that make the textile feel smooth or soft, anti-microbial finishes, insect repellant, and even photochromatic or thermochromatic dyes.